In the National Park Centre in Zernez, you can find out everything you need to know about Switzerland’s National Park. You will find the building on the way to Fuorn Pass (Ofenpass) and the Swiss National Park.
The modern visitor’s center has permanent and temporary exhibitions relating to the Swiss National Park, a small shop, and an information desk.
Overview: National Park Centre, Zernez
In 1968, the National Park Centre opened with plans by Iachen Ulrich Könz. It was replaced by a new national park center in 2008. The National Park Center moved to a cubed-shaped structure near the heart of Zernez. Architect Valerio Olgiati designed this sleek, modern building.
Inside the building, you will find exhibits about everything from geology to plants, animals, and history. Despite looking simple from the outside, the interior can feel a bit confusing. Nevertheless, all you have to do is follow the path and you will come out the other side after viewing all the exhibits.
Switzerland’s National Park in Zernez
The Swiss National Park is located in Lower Engadine, Zernez. This is in the Val Müstair Region of Grisons (Graubünden). The Swiss National Park covers the municipalities of Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol, and Val Mustair.
Zernez is the perfect place to start exploring Switzerland’s National Park. It covers 170 kilometers from 1,400 to 3,174 meters above sea level. Featuring 21 routes, educational walks, and guided tours, it’s truly a unique area.
Unlike the other regional nature parks such as Parc Ela or Entlebuch Biosphere, the Swiss National Park is a very strict protected area.
Switzerland has only one national park, the Swiss National Park. There’s nothing more protected than a National Park. There’s no leaving the marked trails, taking flowers, trimming the grass, killing animals, or cutting trees. Here, nature should be left alone.
Regional nature parks in Switzerland, however, are not as strict as the National Park. These parks support nature conservation while supporting the economy.
What to Expect: National Park Centre, Zernez
The National Park Center has four rooms, each with an exhibit covering a different topic. The rooms are spread out over several floors, so you’ll have to walk up and down stairs. You can expect to find permanent exhibits that are interactive.
After paying for your ticket, you will be given an audio guide that you can use to learn more about the exhibits. The audio guide is available in multiple languages.
Here’s what you can expect at the National Park Centre in Zernez:
- Room 1: Andreas Moser and his team filmed this for several months in the national park. He covers all seasons and weather conditions. Animals and plants can be seen during the day, or even at night. There are three huge screens arranged in a triangle inside the room.
- Room 2: The Dolomites of Engadine are featured in this room. It shows different stones, glaciers, mountain animals, the earth’s plates moving, and more. There is also a giant dragon.
- Room 3: Here’s a room about how men use and change nature. It also covers hunting animals and the bearded vulture.
- Room 4: Here’s the vision of the national park – why was it founded? What’s it like?
You can also visit the museum shop after you’re done. In addition, they have a lot of brochures about Lower Engadine near the museum shop.
How to Get to National Park Centre, Zernez
| Address | Urtatsch 2, 7530 Zernez |
| Train | Zernez |
| Bus | Zernez, Scoula |
Final Thoughts: National Park Centre, Zernez
Over the years, the Swiss National Park has provided guests with a place to explore and enjoy the incredible wilderness. Due to its protected nature, it has immense natural beauty and a unique ecosystem. National parks have always had visitor centers for guests to learn more about the park.
The goal of visitors isn’t just to experience nature, but also to learn more about it. In order to provide visitors with insight into the wildlife in the park, the experience inside the visitor center has been designed to make it easy to guide them.
That’s what the National Park Centre in Zernez does. Here, we’ll learn more about what the National Park is about so we can enhance our exploration. In my opinon, you should definitely check out the National Park Centre in Zernez if you can.
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Darla Uhl is the owner of TouringSwitzerland.com. Her home is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Having lived almost 20 years in Switzerland, she's traveled extensively all over the country.
Darla's favorite regions to visit in Switzerland include Engadin, Lake Geneva, Bernese Oberland, Ticino, and Valais. She loves spending time with her family, hiking, visiting museums, and reading books.